Safety first?

I felt it as soon as we walked into the hostel- a heaviness, a feeling of insecurity. The hostel was sketchy. One of my teammates took one look and compared it to an orphanage, something you might see in Annie. And that was in broad daylight. Night came and brought the drunken Nicaraguan men with it. I feared for our safety and spent the weekend avoiding the hostel as much as possible.

In our training for the World Race, we were taught that we are a culture of five highs: High preference, high consideration, high safety, high courage, and high honor. The one that a lot of my focus has been on is high safety, which includes both being a safe place for our teammates to come and share, as well as being aware of our physical surroundings and safety.

Safety has always been a priority for me. Growing up with a wonderful dad and four brothers, I always felt safe and protected. I went to college in the middle of the cornfields and felt safe around campus. When I moved out on my own, I made a point to only look for apartments in areas that I deemed “safe.” I am definitely someone who focuses on safety.

Being on an all-girls team, I felt somewhat insecure about the safety aspect, but I knew it would just teach me to rely on God more and trust Him with my life. Still, though, I’ve found myself over and over again reminding my teammates to be safe, jogging to catch up with them if they start walking down the street alone, praying for them as they balance on scaffolding to paint, and reminding them what to do if they are caught in a riptide at the beach.

While we definitely need to keep safety in mind, I sometimes take it to the extreme, not trusting that God is in control. For example, when I lived in Columbus, there are certain ministries I wouldn’t even consider working with because they weren’t in a “safe” area.

This week, I was challenged by the question, “Do you want to see God more than you desire security?” Francis Chan, in his book, Crazy Love, also says, “But God doesn’t call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn’t come through.”

Our contact this month, Steven, lives this out well. In order to rescue children from the brothels, Steven and his team often have to enter dangerous and even potentially life-threatening situations. While they always have a plan and do their best to keep everyone safe, they ultimately must depend on God for their protection. Steven has been shot, stabbed, and attacked on numerous occasions. But he would do it all over again.
What about me? Where does my security lie?

Do I depend on the men around me to keep me safe? Do I only stay in places that I feel are safe? Is my safety more important than carrying out God’s plan? If I trust Him with everything, why do I worry about safety? Am I allowing fear for my safety or fear for the safety of my team to interfere with the opportunities God is bringing my way?

Yes, safety is important and I want to keep it in mind, but I refuse to allow concerns for safety affect what the Lord is calling me to do.